Hank & Vera

One of Hank's more interesting girlfriends was Vera Cantor.  Vera has two phases: conservative librarian and new wave librarian.  He first meets Vera in Uncanny X-Men #19 at the library where she works.

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Uncanny X-Men #19

Hank does see Vera a few times during Uncanny X-Men as in issues #22

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Uncanny X-Men #22

He we see Hank and Bobby going out with Vera and her roommate Zelda in Uncanny X-Men #27.

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Uncanny X-Men #27

In Uncanny X-Men, Hank and Vera date off and on.  It's rather casual.  In fact, to be honest, she puts up with Hank running off when danger looms near.  She isn't aware that he's a superhero.  The fact that she is willing to keep doing that for a while and then again - later - kind of points to Vera possibly having some boundary issues regarding relationships.  She does have a witty side and she comes off as being pretty intelligent.  He does hint at his antics in Uncanny X-Men #32.

Uncanny X-Men #41

In Uncanny X-Men #41, Vera and Zelda are kind of like "what the fuck?" with Hank and Bobby.  They left when the lights went out to go fight a bad guy and just ditched the girls.  This confrontation actually starts to get to Hank who later refers to this "deflated ego" after returning home.  This also points to Hank not opting to prioritize his dating life.  This changes a little bit after the death of Charles Xavier in Uncanny X-Men #42; in issue #47 Hank suggests to Bobby that they spend some time focusing on their dating life.  They run off AGAIN and Vera and Zelda almost call it off.  This is actually the last date he goes on with Vera until they reconnect a few years later.

Uncanny X-Men #47

When Hank meets up with Vera for a Halloween date in Amazing Adventures #16, he is still not accepting his blue furry self.  This means he wears a mask and gloves while in public (see below).  It also means that he doesn't divulge his furry appearance to Vera right away.

Amazing Adventures #16

Hank and Vera's relationship actually gets a brief overview in The Avengers #209.  It basically covers what we have already talked about with the on again/off again casual dating.  BUT, Vera gets poisoned by Jarvis (Tony Stark's butler)...until it's revealed that it's a Skrull posing as Jarvis.

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The Avengers #209

This wraps up with Vera being put into this tube thing and taken to the Baxter Building.

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This directly picks up in Defenders #105.  Hank seeks help from Dr. Strange while Reed continues to monitor Vera.  Dr. Strange mentions possibly using the resurrection stone to fix Vera.  Dr. Strange, Beast, and Mr. Fantastic travel to a crystaline realm to find Hellstrom.  He manages to heal Vera.  Why the switch to the Defenders?  ByAvengers #211Hank left the Avengers.  The next group he joined up with was the Defenders.

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Defenders #105

Here is the end of the Defenders #105.

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Hank and Vera stick with each other from Defenders #105 to #152.  Vera seems totally cool with Hank being blue, furry, and his efforts to regain his self control (See The Mutations of Hank McCoy).  She's cool with him being a superhero and his superhero friends.  She can deal with his high energy and act as a voice of reason.  What does this point to?  Vera is an open-minded woman.  She's not as uptight as she may come off.  She is accepting of mutants and other supers.  She has no problem speaking up.  She also calls Hank out on his shit -- case in point, Defenders #116 where Vera says no a group dinner because she wants time with Hank.

Defenders #116

She also is not thrilled when they head out and Hank gets attention.  It's not the attention that bothers her, it's the fact that he responds so easily to it.  See below.

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Hank and Vera's relationship is very up and down at this time.  Here he is after getting 15 bags of fan mail delivered to him (forwarded by the Avengers) and having Iceman show up (he hasn't seen Bobby in a while).  He goes out with friends and Vera is like "WTF?  Why didn't you call me?"  This is from Defenders #122.

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Hank does ruminate on the comment from Dolly about making it a team.  I took it as a reference to him and Vera.  Hank took it as making the Defenders a more stable, formal team.  And, just to make things more strained on his relationship with Vera, in Defenders #125 when Hellcat marries Hellstrom, Hank goes by himself - not with Vera.

This actually causes Hank to want to have a leadership role by Defenders #126.  His teammates, other than Iceman and Angel (who stopped by), refer to him as a jester incapable of being a leader.  Of course, his two former X-Men teammates stand up for him.  This starts to alter his personality a little bit.  He gets a little more serious and starts to mature a bit.  He starts securing funding for the team through university lectures and gets the team security clearance with SHIELD.  This starts Hank down the path of making some new friends in the academia world.  He really starts to show off his leadership skills and serious side by Defenders #134, which oddly enough has been void of Vera since issue #126.  Vera doesn't come back into play until Defenders #140.

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Hank sends Vera flowers and a poem as a way to reconnect with her.  Now, to be clear, before this, Hank took a trip to California and had a little tryst with Dazzler in a 4-issue series called Beauty and The Beast (1984).  The seriousness does continue into Defenders #142 with anti-mutant protests and more of a political angle.  Hank is also thrown back into a lab setting.  His goofiness has been more or less bumped down to witty quips here and there instead of bouncing all over the place like a rambunctious boy.  It actually pushes Hank into the role of mutant rights activist.

Defenders #149

Hank finally gets around to meeting up with Vera again for lunch and things aren't looking so good for them.  Vera is a little more new wave at this point, signifying her own personal change.  Hank is going back to his intellectual self.  He does give her a Beast Signal Watch, which is kind of fun, right before he takes off...again.

Hank doesn't see Vera again until, briefly, in X-Factor #55 when she thinks she is a prostitute and has  new look.  She's under the spell of Mesmero and really isn't up to dealing with Hank.  Hank, at this point, is actually dating Trish Tilby.

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Alright, so Hank and Vera's relationship isn't the best.  It ran through a lot of personal growth for both of them, more so for Hank.  This is actually one of those relationships that you could see ending before they really got there.  Why?  Because it didn't seem mutual ever.

Sources:

• David, Peter. (June 1990) "Desperately Seeking Vera" X-Factor. Issue #55. (Illustrator T. Shoemaker and C. Doran). Marvel Comics.

• De Matteis, J.M. (Apr 1981) "The Resurrection Stone!" The Avengers. Issue #209. (Illustrator A. Kupperberg). Marvel Comics.

• De Matteis, J.M. (Dec 1981) "...Rising..." Defenders. Issue #105. (Illustrator D. Perlin and J. Sinnott). Marvel Comics.

• De Matteis, J.M. (Feb 1983) "Two By Two" Defenders. Issue #116. (Illustrator D. Perlin). Marvel Comics.

• De Matteis, J.M. (Aug 1983) "Things To Come" Defenders. Issue #122. (Illustrator D. Perlin). Marvel Comics.

• Englehart, Steve. (Jan 1973) "The Beast: The Dark Of Halloween!" Amazing Adventures. Issue #16. (Illustrator B. Brown). Marvel Comics.

• Friedrich, Gary; Drake, Arnold. (August 1968) "The Mystery of The Maha Yogi." The Uncanny X-Men. Issue #47.  (Illustrator D. Heck). Marvel Comics.

• Gillis, Peter B. (Feb 1985) "Things To Come" Defenders. Issue #140. (Illustrator D. Perlin). Marvel Comics.

• Gillis, Peter B. (Nov 1985) "Lonely As A Cloud--!" Defenders. Issue #149. (Illustrator D. Perlin). Marvel Comics.

• Lee, Stan. (Apr 1966) "Lo! Now Shall Appear The Mimic." The Uncanny X-Men. Issue #19.  (Illustrator J. Gavin). Marvel Comics.

• Thomas, Roy. (July 1966) "Divided We Fall." The Uncanny X-Men. Issue #22.  (Illustrator J. Gavin). Marvel Comics.

• Thomas, Roy. (December 1966) "Re-Enter The Mimic." The Uncanny X-Men. Issue #27.  (Illustrator W. Roth). Marvel Comics.

• Thomas, Roy. (May 1967) "Beware The Juggernaut, My Son." The Uncanny X-Men. Issue #32.  (Illustrator W. Roth). Marvel Comics.

• Thomas, Roy. (February 1968) "Now Strikes The Sub-Human!" The Uncanny X-Men. Issue #41.  (Illustrator D. Heck). Marvel Comics.